Is your backplane getting a little long in the tooth? If you’ve been upgrading your interfaces to today’s super-high-speed standards, your backplane technology is probably getting left behind. You need to consider a high-speed, high-density, future-proofed backplane solution that can keep up with the demands of your system.

Click here for more information about High-Speed Backplane Systems from Samtec.

But, industrial electronics is Samtec’s largest selling industry sector, and that’s because Samtec has a full line of micro, rugged industrial connectors. Applications include factory automation, embedded computing, robotics, monitoring, vision systems, measurement, motion and process controls, and security, to name a few

Although the words “micro,” “rugged,” and “interconnects” usually don’t go together, many designers choose Samtec’s Tiger Eye interconnect system because it is designed for micro, high-reliability, high-cycle, and rugged applications.

High Reliability, High Cycle

Tiger Eye is a multi-finger, heat-treated, Beryllium Copper (BeCu) contact designed for rugged environments. Once formed and hardened, BeCu will retain its shape under a wide variety of conditions. The superior spring properties of Beryllium Copper make it ideal for high mating cycle applications; it has been tested up to 10,000 mating cycles.

The contact mating surface is on the flat, smooth side of each finger. Smooth surfaces allow more mating cycles because the stress to the plating is minimized. This provides lower contact resistance and longer plating life.

A micro slot on the tail allows solder paste to penetrate the slot, wetting a larger surface area on the lead, providing greater solder joint strength. Connectors with micro tail slots tend to adhere to the wet solder paste prior to reflow better than flat leads.

Extended Life Testing

Samtec Extended Life Products (ELP)
are popular Samtec interconnects that are tested to
much higher mating cycles, and they pass a nasty 10 year Mixed Flowing Gas
(MFG) test.

Many
EOEMs, especially those in the telecommunications and industrial industries,
require their interconnects pass these more stringent tests. The application
may simply require many cycles or the product may be exposed to harsh
environments.

Designers frequently want this level of performance for their bench testing. The interconnects in their design typically will not see that level of abuse, but the engineers want to make sure their design is robust. In some ways it’s like power or voltage derating; the designer knows that if the connectors are rated at a certain level, then they will work in their less-stringent application.

EDT and MFG

A
product must pass two tests to be ELP certified. First is an Extended
Durability Test (EDT), which subjects the interconnect system to a higher cycle
count. Note EDT is not a test to failure; rather, we test the interconnects to
a set number of cycles and rate the connector at that level. The major stresses
in EDT are thermal shock and humidity, and connectors are certified if they
experience ≤ 15 mΩ LLCR from the initial value. Click here for an example of an Extended Durability Test.

Second,
the product must pass a 10 Year Mixed Flowing Gas (MFG) test, based on
EIA-364-1000. Click here for an example of a MFG test.

Again,
most interconnect applications do not require this level of ruggedness, but
verification is available if necessary. If you need to verify product
performance to a specific level, Samtec is willing and able to test to your
requirements. For more info about specific testing capabilities, or for
more info on ELP in general, contact Samtec’s Engineering Support
Group.

]]>Glass; Not Your Mom’s Substrate.https://blog.samtec.com/post/glass-not-your-moms-substrate/
Fri, 17 May 2019 18:01:08 +0000https://blog.samtec.com/?p=26135In the days of old we looked into the “green” for guidance on how much further down into the world of miniaturization we could go. What is the green you ask? I am talking about the substrate that has served us all well for many years; the PCB. We are at a crossroads in the […]

In the days of old we looked into the “green” for guidance on how much further down into the world of miniaturization we could go. What is the green you ask? I am talking about the substrate that has served us all well for many years; the PCB.

We are at a crossroads in the world of substrates, and honestly we are at a point where we need something new, a different way of addressing miniaturization and higher speeds.

What are my options?

The printed circuit board has come a long way from its beginnings, and perhaps can be taken to new highs (or lows in this case) through new materials compositions.

However, if we are honest with ourselves we know that the PCB isn’t the best option for miniaturization. After the PCB came the silicon wafer for use as a substrate.

The silicon wafer has the benefit of being able to take vias down to 10 µm, and is considered to be a mature substrate. However, it doesn’t have the electrical benefits of glass since it is a semiconductor where glass is an insulator. Silicon also falls a little short on maintaining a flat surface finish so 2.5D and 3D packaging can become difficult.

Why is Glass a Better Substrate?

To boil everything down in one statement, glass can go smaller than PCB and has better electrical, optical, and flatness properties over silicon. This goes without mentioning that glass is implantable in the human body, and can handle 2.5D and 3D packaging methods with ease.

On top of that, glass can have microstructures etched into, microchannels for fluid transfer and electronics cooling, and can even be used in RF MEMS applications.

Samtec is leading the way in the glass substrate market by offering multiple via types, and multiple materials (Borosilicate and Fused Silica) for varying applications. Glass isn’t finished there, it can be stacked to hermetically seal a package, implanted, and can have channels made to fit any need.

Want to learn more about Samtec’s Glass Core Technology? Check out www.samtec.com/gct and see the GCT video here.

]]>Samtec Integrates with SnapEDA to Offer Easy Electrical and Mechanical Downloadshttps://blog.samtec.com/post/samtec-integrates-with-snapeda-to-offer-easy-electrical-and-mechanical-downloads/
Thu, 16 May 2019 09:13:30 +0000https://blog.samtec.com/?p=26085One of the main draws for engineers to Samtec.com is the widespread availability of technical documentation throughout our website, virtually all of which is available without a login or even an email address. With the addition of our configurator tool and 3D model availability a few years ago, 3D model downloads from Samtec.com have skyrocketed […]

One of the main draws for engineers to Samtec.com is the widespread availability of technical documentation throughout our website, virtually all of which is available without a login or even an email address.

With the addition of our configurator tool and 3D model availability a few years ago, 3D model downloads from Samtec.com have skyrocketed in popularity.

Now we hope to expand this capability by offering easy Electrical and Mechanical model downloads, again, without requiring a login or email address.

A New Easy-to-Use Tool

Through a partnership with SnapEDA, whose mission is to help engineers build products faster by removing design barriers, we have just launched a new addition to our product pages to allow users to download electrical and mechanical models in just a few clicks.

Availability stretches across thousands of Samtec products already among several different file types, including Altium, Eagle, KiCad, OrCAD, PADS, and PCB123. We’ll be adding more products each month as we continue to develop this capability.

You can check out an example of this here to give it a try, or just type in any valid Samtec full part number into the search and scroll to the Electrical & Mechanical Models block to see if a product is available.

Send Us Your Feedback

We’re always looking for ways to improve your online experience.

Drop your email address in the form below if you want to stay in the loop with these updates, as well as the rest of our blog content.

If you have any feedback or suggestions for our web team, feel free to send an email to eHelpDesk@samtec.com.

]]>Discover the Largest Variety of High-Speed Board-to-Board & High-Speed Backplane Solutionshttps://blog.samtec.com/post/discover-the-largest-variety-of-high-speed-board-to-board-and-high-speed-backplane-solutions/
Wed, 15 May 2019 15:30:51 +0000https://blog.samtec.com/?p=26084Some of the greatest moments in sports history… “The Miracle on Ice” 1980 Winter OlympicsJessie Owens, 1936 Olympics “The Rumble in the Jungle” …just to name a few, are the result of an athlete’s speed and flexibility. Some are comeback stories and some are record-breaking stories, but all are made possible through the support of a […]

…just to name a few, are the result of an athlete’s speed and flexibility. Some are comeback stories and some are record-breaking stories, but all are made possible through the support of a team, a coach, the fans…

Likewise, Samtec’s High-Speed Board-to-Board and Backplane solutions deliver high-speed performance with incredible application flexibility to fit any design challenge. This is made possible by unrivaled signal integrity support from full engineering support and free resources to online tools and much more.

Actually being at the history-making event likely leaves you with a lifelong memory. We’ve recently released a High-Speed Board-to-Board and Backplane web experience so you can encounter for yourself the largest variety of high-speed board-to-board and backplane interconnect solutions.

High-Speed Performance

Within this web experience, you can scroll, roll over and interact with our High-Speed product solutions. Discover performance to 112 Gbps PAM and increased bandwidth with optimized signal integrity to meet the application needs of today and the future.

Application Flexibility

Learn more about the product flexibility from a choice of pitch and pin counts to stack heights and options like orientation, rugged features, mating cables, etc. Product solutions include:

High-Density Arrays

Ground Plane Interconnects

Edge Card Systems

Edge Rate® Interconnects

Ultra Micro Interconnects

High-Speed Backplane Systems

Signal Integrity Support

You can also explore our in-house signal integrity expertise and support options, and our online tools. Find a mated set (Solutionator®), simulate real-time performance (Simulator) or receive channel modeling based on your inputs (Channelyzer®).

And if you would like to take something with you to remember the experience, download our newly released High-Speed Board-to-Board and Backplane Guide. Or, contact us for more information and to discuss your high-speed design needs.

To discover and interact with additional Samtec product solutions, check out these posts about our other web experiences:

]]>Samtec to Attend Maker Faire Bay Area 2019https://blog.samtec.com/post/samtec-to-attend-maker-faire-bay-area-2019/
Fri, 10 May 2019 20:51:17 +0000https://blog.samtec.com/?p=26077What’s the coolest thing happening in the Bay Area these days? What about the movies? Avengers: Endgame is SO two weeks ago! Pokémon Detective Pikachu? I guess so. What about the NHL and NBA playoffs? Folks in Oakland are fretting about Kevin Durant’s calf. The San Jose crowd definitely hopes Joe Thorton, Joe Pavelski, Brent […]

]]>What’s the coolest thing happening in the Bay Area these days? What about the movies? Avengers: Endgame is SO two weeks ago! Pokémon Detective Pikachu? I guess so.

What about the NHL and NBA playoffs? Folks in Oakland are fretting about Kevin Durant’s calf. The San Jose crowd definitely hopes Joe Thorton, Joe Pavelski, Brent Burns and the rest of the team finally hoist the Stanley Cup.

Aside from that, Maker Faire Bay Area is coming to the San Mateo Event Center from May 17-19, 2019 . This annual event is billed as Greatest Show (and Tell) on Earth. It also combines part science fair, part county fair, and part something entirely new .

Samtec Supports “Makers”

As it sounds, Makers make “stuff”. Their “stuff” may need electronic connectors. How do Makers ease connector selection in their projects?

FPGA Open Source Video-over-Gigabit Ethernet

One popular technology many appreciate is video. Video-chatting via smart phones and tables is second nature. However, embedding video capabilities in “maker”-style projects can be a challenge.

Samtec has partnered with Mind Chasers to “make” an easy-to-use FPGA open source video-over-GigE platform. Mind Chasers is a technology and engineering services firm focused on data networking. They quickly and easily develop embedded system applications.

Darsena supports open source hardware shields. A good example is an SMA shield for video expansion. Other shields are under development.

Samtec Maker Faire Bay Area 2019

So, bring out the family to Maker Faire Bay Area. It’s a family-friendly showcase of invention, creativity and resourcefulness, and a celebration of the Maker Movement. It’s a place where people show what they are making, and share what they are learning.

Makers range from crafters and homesteaders to scientists and garage tinkerers. They are of all ages and backgrounds. The aim of Maker Faire is to entertain, inform, connect and grow the community.

]]>Samtec to Present at 2019 Avnet Technology Showcaseshttps://blog.samtec.com/post/samtec-to-present-at-2019-avnet-technology-symposiums/
Thu, 09 May 2019 21:03:22 +0000https://blog.samtec.com/?p=26071Engineers constantly look for the latest technical information applicable to their design. Many engineers love interacting with as many solutions providers as possible. The 2019 Avnet Technology Showcases are a great way for engineers to research multiple topics. These unique events includes 18 interactive industry leading supplier booths, and 12 suppliers led classes. Learn about […]

]]>Engineers constantly look for the latest technical information applicable to their design. Many engineers love interacting with as many solutions providers as possible.

The 2019 Avnet Technology Showcases are a great way for engineers to research multiple topics. These unique events includes 18 interactive industry leading supplier booths, and 12 suppliers led classes.

Design engineers and product developers are challenged with balancing increasing throughput, scalability and density demands with concerns such as power consumption, signal integrity, cost and time-to-market.

In this class, Samtec will discuss techniques that help designers optimize the signal path from the IC through the PCB to the connector and cable assembly and throughout the system.

Locations

The 2019 Avnet Technology Showcases will take place over the next few weeks in locations across the Midwest.

Technical experts from Samtec will discuss their industry-leading expertise in high-performance interconnect design, system optimization, and innovative strategies and technologies for the demands of next-generation data transmission.

]]>Check Out the April 2019 Website Updates for Samtec.comhttps://blog.samtec.com/post/check-out-the-april-2019-website-updates-for-samtec-com/
Thu, 09 May 2019 16:56:40 +0000https://blog.samtec.com/?p=26050In April 2019, we focused on several user experience upgrades to Samtec.com, and a few new content updates, while we continue to work on several larger projects in the background (mentioned below). Here are the major updates to Samtec.com for April 2019. Design Update to Series Product Pages We first released the most modern version […]

]]>In April 2019, we focused on several user experience upgrades to Samtec.com, and a few new content updates, while we continue to work on several larger projects in the background (mentioned below).

Here are the major updates to Samtec.com for April 2019.

Design Update to Series Product Pages

We first released the most modern version of our Series Product Pages (aka Tech Specs pages) in March of 2016. These pages make up the bread and butter of Samtec.com, with nearly 1000 different variations based on the product you are viewing.

These also lead into full part number product pages, which number in the trillions (yes, trillions), but we’ve left those alone for now.

With 2016’s update, it was a major upgrade from a previous version not only in design, but also in back-end architecture, performance, and features.

Since then, we have learned a lot about what our users expect and how they behave once they’re on this page.

With the 2019 update, we have kept essentially all of those features intact, but have focused on bringing several of the key actions UP the page to be easier to access, and simplifying the rest of the page by moving some of the lesser used features to other areas.

This release is less of a full-fledged re-design and more of a user-experience refresh. Even so, we expect it to be well-received.

We wrote about this in a blog post a couple of weeks ago. You can check that out here if you missed it.

Standalone Cross Reference Search

Samtec.com users have had the ability to search competitor cross references for over a year, however we received some feedback that this was not always easy to access since it was a direct integration with our search. Our users were looking for more of a standalone experience.

With this most recent update, we have pulled the Cross Reference search feature into an application of its own, which is accessible in the Resources area of our main navigation.

New High-Speed Board-to-Board and Backplane Story Page

In the past few months, we’ve released several content-rich experiences for the different types of products that we offer.

This month, we released an experience for our High-Speed Board-to-Board and Backplane products, where we offer the largest variety of high-speed board-to-board and backplane interconnects in the industry with full engineering support, online tools and an unmatched service attitude.

We’ll go more into this experience and group of products soon in an upcoming blog post.

Easy Electrical and Mechanical Model Downloads

Recently, we rolled out an update to integrate a new block into our full-part product pages. With this added functionality, you’ll be able to download electrical and mechanical models that are provided by SnapEDA. These models will be available freely without a login or email address required.

You can already download thousands of products across several different file types, including Altium, Eagle, KiCad, OrCAD, PADS, and PCB123. We’ll be adding more products each month as we continue to develop this capability.

You can check out an example of this here to give it a try, or just type in any valid Samtec full part number into the search and scroll to the Electrical & Mechanical Models block to see if a product is available.

Addition of a Single / Double Row Filter in Solutionator

While Solutionator is a mature application, we’re always open to feedback to improve any of our online tools.

This month, by popular demand, we moved up the “Row Type” filter, which allows users to quickly filter by Single or Double row products without clicking on the Additional Filters.

Enhanced Keyboard Controls for Free Sample Tool

If you’re a keyboard control aficionado like me, then you’ll love this update.

This month we added an update to the Free Sample tool from the top left of Samtec.com that will allow you to control the entire tool with your keyboard, in a fast and intuitive manner.

Just head to Samtec.com and click on “Free Samples” at the top. From there, your cursor will already be in the first part number field.

You’ll notice that once you start typing, another field will automatically appear for you. If you want to use it, just hit Tab to it and keep going. If not, hit Tab a couple of times go to the “Get Samples” button, then click “Enter” to finish the process on the checkout screen, which has pretty good keyboard control integration as well.

Easy peasy!

Coming Soon to Samtec.com

That does it for the major web updates this month.

Here is what we’re currently working on, and a few other updates that are coming soon!

An updated login process across all of Samtec.com

Updates to our High Speed Cable Builder

Continued upgrades to our e-commerce experience

Easier ways to get in touch with product support throughout the website

Keep an eye out for these updates and more coming soon!

Drop your email address in the form below if you want to stay in the loop with these updates, and as well as the rest of our blog content.

If you have any feedback or suggestions for our web team, feel free to send them an email at eHelpDesk@samtec.com.

]]>Can A 12G-SDI Signal Be Transmitted Through 12 Cable-to-Board Terminations?https://blog.samtec.com/post/can-a-12g-sdi-signal-be-transmitted-through-12-cable-to-board-terminations/
Tue, 07 May 2019 18:43:41 +0000https://blog.samtec.com/?p=26048Chris Shelly, Samtec’s RF/SI Modeling Engineer, walks us through a live 12G-SDI transmission line demonstration at NAB 2019. This demo showcases the signal processing capabilities of the Phabrix® QX UHDTV 12G-SDI generator/analyzer and the transmission of those signals through several other Samtec 75 ohm PCB connectors and cable assemblies. The Phabrix QX is generating a […]

Chris Shelly, Samtec’s RF/SI Modeling Engineer, walks us through a live 12G-SDI transmission line demonstration at NAB 2019. This demo showcases the signal processing capabilities of the Phabrix® QX UHDTV 12G-SDI generator/analyzer and the transmission of those signals through several other Samtec 75 ohm PCB connectors and cable assemblies.

The Phabrix QX is generating a 12G-SDI signal, through two Samtec right-angle BNC connectors, and back into the Phabrix QX for analysis. We get a good look at the resulting eye pattern for this signal, the test pattern being generated, and the test pattern being received.

12G-SDI Transmission Lines

To emphasize the performance of the Samtec HDBNC, DIN7A, and BNC7T series of products, Chris then routes the 12G SDI signal through a daisy chain of 12 connector pairs, including ten right angle connector pairs, two pairs from each of these series. As expected there is some drop in the peak voltage for the eye pattern as well as some increased jitter, but it’s still wide-open, and the received test pattern is shown to be unaffected.

Chris developed this demonstration to show the quality of the Samtec 12G-SDI RF connectors, but not thinking it was real-world application. Who would route signals through 12 connectors? We’ve since learned from customers that this type of set-up is not-so-rare and therefore this isn’t a merely hypothetical demonstration.

Launch Optimization

The demonstration highlights the custom launch
design that successfully allows even the more challenging right-angle connector
configurations to perform at this high level. With PCB terminated RF
connectors, the design of the launch (the transition from the connector to the
trace on the board) is critical to the ultimate performance of the RF
connection. Samtec offers custom launch design services to assure the
best possible performance of our RF PCB connectors when terminated to our
customers’ specific PCB stack and construction.

Auto-Placeable RA BNC Connector

While
maintaining 12G-SDI performance, Samtec experts modified the weight of the
low-profile, right-angle BNC connector to keep it balanced during automated
placement without fixturing. The top surface area was also increased for a
machine vacuum seal, making the use of industry standard pick-and-place
machines possible.

By the way, one of the connector sets in this demo is the BNC7T-BM1D, Samtec’s new low profile, right-angle 75 Ω BNC connector. This 12G-SDI product, exclusive to Samtec, is engineered for pick-and-place assembly.

To learn more about 12G-SDI connectors and Samtec’s optimized launch capabilities, please contact the RF Technical Group. These services are available to optimize the performance of any of our BNC, HDBNC, DIN or other 75 Ω series of PCB terminated connectors for your particular PCB stack up, regardless of materials and thickness.

]]>The Engineer’s Cheese Sandwichhttps://blog.samtec.com/post/the-engineers-cheese-sandwich/
Thu, 02 May 2019 09:09:46 +0000https://blog.samtec.com/?p=23373Design engineers are the heroes of the electronics industry. Responsible for creating everything from cell phones to satellites, it is the creativity of designers that drives the modern world. Engineers must respond to a specification. This is where the life of a design engineer becomes a little difficult. In an ideal world, a design specification […]

]]>Design engineers are the heroes of the electronics industry. Responsible for creating everything from cell phones to satellites, it is the creativity of designers that drives the modern world.

Engineers must respond to a specification. This is where the life of a design engineer becomes a little difficult. In an ideal world, a design specification should be clear and detailed, but I’m afraid that sometimes our design engineer might be given instructions that are less than perfect.

Make me a cheese sandwich!

There is an analogy that might make this problem easier to visualise, and it is called the Engineer’s Cheese Sandwich. It describes a situation where the client presents a design spec to our engineer which says, “Oh, and make me a cheese sandwich!”

Not really a detailed brief, really. The engineer is now faced with a
dilemma. The client has asked for a
cheese sandwich, but does the client just want cheese? What kind of bread do they need? Salad?
Sauces? The engineer is left to
get on with the design based on the vaguest instructions.

A little while later, the time comes for the engineer to
present his product to the client. The
client has asked for a cheese sandwich, and so the engineer has created just
this – a piece of cheese wrapped in two pieces of plain, white bread. The client looks for a moment, thinks, and
then says “Where are the pickles? And the lettuce? Oh, and I wanted rye
bread. And…”

Suddenly, the engineer has to completely redesign his product at short notice, all because the client was unclear with his instructions. Lucky for us, redesigning a cheese sandwich is a relatively simple task – adding pickles, lettuce, even the rye bread is easy.

The last-minute redesign

To illustrate my point, we need to take this analogy and translate it into the electronics industry. The design engineer has produced the best product possible with what little information he was given, and it does not match up with the image that the client has in his head.

The engineer has already laid out the PCB, created the
mechanical design, obtained samples and created the prototype. To redesign at
this late stage will cause a lot of problems, especially if the deadlines are tight.

There are those times when to redesign seems all but impossible, and you need to dig deep to find the solution. At those times, you need someone in your corner, someone who can help you be the superhero. Samtec understands your dilemma and has established tools, services, and an infrastructure to help you dig deep.

Fear not, help is at hand…

When it comes to creating the seemingly impossible, Samtec has become known as the “save the day” company. Samtec has built its reputation in the electronics industry by being a genuine solution provider. On-line tools and responsive service allow the customer to configure connectors from a huge range of options, making it possible to find precisely the connector that is needed for your “impossible” application.

“So what?” you may ask. Many connector companies offer configuration
tools for customers. What makes Samtec
different is their ability to deliver? Using state-of-the-art, rapid manufacturing
techniques, the connector that did not even exist 20 minutes before can be made and shipped overnight.

This is truly revolutionary.
In a marketplace that is seemingly driven by availability, Samtec is a
company that does not hold shelves and shelves of stock. But what Samtec does stock is the expertise,
passion and service that allows the engineer to become the superhero, deliver
the impossible, and save the day.

]]>VITA 57.1 FMC and VITA 57.4 FMC+ are like ‘Avengers: Endgame’ . . . Kindahttps://blog.samtec.com/post/vita-57-1-fmc-and-vita-57-4-fmc-are-like-avengers-endgame-kinda/
Thu, 02 May 2019 00:11:58 +0000https://blog.samtec.com/?p=23387What’s that? There’s a new movie out? What’s it called? Avengers? Who are they? What do they do? I highly doubt anyone – except someone’s grandmother – has said the above. ‘Avengers: Endgame’ has been taking the world by storm. For superhero fanboys like yours truly, ‘Avengers: Endgame’ is the dream movie worth waiting for. […]

]]>What’s that? There’s a new movie out? What’s it called? Avengers? Who are they? What do they do?

I highly doubt anyone – except someone’s grandmother – has said the above. ‘Avengers: Endgame’ has been taking the world by storm. For superhero fanboys like yours truly, ‘Avengers: Endgame’ is the dream movie worth waiting for.

In a similar way, the VITA 57 FMC and FMC+ specifications are the dream interface between FPGAs carrier cards and mezzanine cards. Like ‘Avengers: Endgame’ . . . Kinda.

VITA 57.1 FMC

FMC is like the OG Avengers. It ages like fine wine and saves the – FPGA – world time and time again. FMC defines the electro-mechanical interface for FPGA expansion buses. Even after ten years, it continues to provide a variety of benefits to the embedded system developer.

FMC’s flexibility offers many benefits. These include sustained implementation and deployment in new technologies. FMC also allows for more efficient prototyping and a faster time to market for FPGA-based systems.

VITA 57.4 FMC+

If VITA 57.1 FMC is like OG Avengers, VITA 57.4 FMC+
parallels the recent success of new MCU stars Black Panther and Captain Marvel.
Fully released in July 2018, VITA 57.4 FMC+ was designed to expand upon the
already popular FMC standard while avoiding the hassle of implementation into
existing systems.

FMC+ provides improved performance, faster data rates, and additional I/O, while utilizing the same footprint as FMC. Along with backwards compatibility with legacy FMC systems, FMC+ proves to be a stress-free improvement for any FPGA developer already using FMC.

The Future of FMC and FMC+

Now that ‘Avengers: Endgame’ is in the theaters, MCU fans want to know what will happen next. Obviously, ‘Spiderman: Far From Home’ in on the horizon. Many MCU movies are rumored, but only one has been confirmed.

In a similar manner, the FPGA world wonders what’s next for VITA 57. FPGA transceiver data rates will soon support 56 Gbps PAM4/112 Gbps PAM4 data rates. Can VITA 57 FMC/FMC+ keep up?

Thankfully, Dylan Lang has the answers. As Samtec Standards Manager, Dylan is one of many Samtec technical experts observing and participating in VITA and other standards bodies. He explores the future of VITA 57 in an article entitled How FMC Developments Support Legacy and Next-Gen Data Needs.

While maintaining 12G-SDI
performance, Samtec experts modified the weight of the low-profile, right-angle
BNC connector to keep it balanced during automated placement without fixturing.
The top surface area was also increased for a machine vacuum seal, making the
use of industry standard pick-and-place machines possible.

Here is a video that shows these connectors being placed on a PCB. Please note the equipment is running slower than usual to show the connectors and the accurate placement of the connectors to the PCB.

The demonstration highlights the custom launch design that successfully allows even the more challenging right-angle connector configurations to perform at this high level. With PCB terminated RF connectors, the design of the launch (the transition from the connector to the trace on the board) is critical to the ultimate performance of the RF connection.

Samtec offers custom launch design
services to assure the best possible performance of our RF PCB connectors when
terminated to our customers’ specific PCB stack and construction. The
specific PCB stack dimensions and all materials utilized in the construction of
the PCB, including all prepreg and core materials used, the specific weave
types of each, and any solder masks etc., are needed in order to perform these
services.

Also in the video, Chris compares the results of a connector that meets SMPTE requirements with the same connector on a fully optimized PCB. Note the optimized PCB has roughly the same material, a similar construction, and the same number of layers; the difference is the optimization. Optimization includes the transition to the next component on the board; this reduces additional impedance variations and associated reflections that will reduce performance.

To learn more about 12G-SDI connectors and Samtec’s optimized launch capabilities, please contact the RF Technical Group. These services are available to optimize the performance of any of our BNC, HDBNC, DIN or other 75 Ω series of PCB terminated connectors for your particular PCB stack up, regardless of materials and thickness.

]]>Check Out the Fresh New Design of our Series Product Pageshttps://blog.samtec.com/post/check-out-the-fresh-new-design-of-our-series-product-pages/
Thu, 25 Apr 2019 14:59:11 +0000https://blog.samtec.com/?p=23369We first released the most modern version of our Series Product Pages (aka Tech Specs pages) in March of 2016. These pages make up the bread and butter of Samtec.com, with nearly 1000 different variations based on the product you are viewing. These also lead into full part number product pages, which number in the […]

]]>We first released the most modern version of our Series Product Pages (aka Tech Specs pages) in March of 2016. These pages make up the bread and butter of Samtec.com, with nearly 1000 different variations based on the product you are viewing.

These also lead into full part number product pages, which number in the trillions (yes, trillions), but we’ve left those alone for now.

With 2016’s update, it was a major upgrade from a previous version not only in design, but also in back-end architecture, performance, and features.

Since then, we have learned a lot about what our users expect and how they behave once they’re on this page.

With the 2019 update, we have kept essentially all of those features intact, but have focused on bringing several of the key actions UP the page to be easier to access, and simplifying the rest of the page by moving some of the lesser used features to other areas.

This release is less of a full-fledged re-design and more of a user-experience refresh. Even so, we expect it to be well-received.

Old Design

The old design had a few main focus points at the top:

Product description and features

Mates information

A representative product image

Call to Action buttons

Specs Kit download

Through years of feedback and statistics as we’ve tweaked and monitored this page, we’ve learned that some of these things are redundant and less important than others. This allowed us to shift the focus more to the product itself right from the start.

New Design

The new design moves the product configurator up the page significantly, which allows users to begin configuring the product they need much faster, and also provides the same call-to-actions as before, in a more user-friendly manner.

It also repositions several of the previously-mentioned redundant or less important items down the page, but still allows access to them in the top sub-navigation. The things that have been moved down are:

Mates information

Specs kit download

Simulator, Solutionator, and Channelyzer links

The action shortcuts and the representative product image have been completely eliminated, since the new design accomplishes both of these things without the need for shortcuts.

What This Means for Our Users

The benefits to Samtec.com users are many:

A cleaner overall appearance with less visual noise

Quicker access to a full product configuration and details about that specific product, such as technical information, pricing and lead-time.

Quicker access to free 3D model downloads

Quicker access to free 24-hour samples

Quicker loading of the page due the simplification

Essentially, all of the top actions user actions are much faster and more accessible, which we hope means a significantly upgraded user-experience.

]]>An Eye Catching High Performance Test Point Systemhttps://blog.samtec.com/post/an-eye-catching-high-performance-test-point-system/
Tue, 23 Apr 2019 18:57:25 +0000https://blog.samtec.com/?p=23365Samtec Bulls Eye® test point systems are ideal for high-performance test applications because of their compression interfaces, small footprint, and high cycle count capabilities. Bulls Eye is now available in 50 GHz and 20 GHz designs, with a system up to 70 GHz in development. Bulls Eye is a popular product because: The grid design […]

Samtec Bulls Eye® test point systems are ideal for high-performance test applications because of their compression interfaces, small footprint, and high cycle count capabilities. Bulls Eye is now available in 50 GHz and 20 GHz designs, with a system up to 70 GHz in development.

Our new BE40A series is a 50 GHz, double row system with signal and ground pogo pins. End 2 connectors are 2.92 mm and 2.40 mm, it’s available in microstrip or stripline PCB transmission, and is backward compatible with legacy, double row BDRA series 20 GHz solutions (stripline only).

The 70 GHz, BE70A series, currently in development, is a dual row system available in stripline or microstrip PCB transmission with a 1.85 mm End 2 connector.

]]>Thermal Shock Testing for Connectorshttps://blog.samtec.com/post/thermal-shock-testing-for-connectors/
Thu, 18 Apr 2019 12:00:12 +0000https://blog.samtec.com/?p=23323Thermal Shock testing isn’t unique to the connector world, but it does play a big role in the qualification testing that Samtec puts all connectors through before they are released for production. Chances are likely that you thermally shock many items per day and don’t give it a second thought unless they break. Some examples […]

]]>Thermal Shock testing isn’t unique to the connector world, but it does play a big role in the qualification testing that Samtec puts all connectors through before they are released for production.

Chances are likely that you thermally shock many items per day and don’t give it a second thought unless they break. Some examples of this would be placing a glass cup previously containing ice into a sink full of hot water or rinsing your freshly used frying pan with cold water.

Thermal shock places stress onto the items we use, and need to know that they can withstand it.

What is Thermal Shock Testing?

Thermal Shock is used to test the ability of a connector to withstand extreme temperature changes simulating the worst possible conditions of storage, use, and transportation. This test is also known as “temperature cycling.”

The test exposes the connectors to extreme high and low temperatures of -55°C to +85°C. The temperature change will cycle 100 times throughout the test with a 1/2 hour dwell at each level.

Why Test Thermal Shock?

Just like with the other tests that are part of qualification testing, thermal shock testing is designed to ensure a connector can withstand varying conditions that it might be exposed to in the field.

Thermal Shock Test Chamber

Samtec knows that its products are used in many different applications and conditions. Knowing the parts can withstand thermal shock affords the customer with confidence that the connector set will perform as expected.

Samtec publishes all of its reports on www.samtec.com and can be found according to the series pages. To see the qualification test report that includes thermal shock test results for the SEAM/SEAF series please click here, or type in the series name of the part you are interested in on samtec.com.

]]>Find Your Competitor Cross Reference Easily With This New Standalone Toolhttps://blog.samtec.com/post/find-your-competitor-cross-reference-easily-with-this-new-standalone-tool/
Wed, 17 Apr 2019 10:13:01 +0000https://blog.samtec.com/?p=23324Samtec.com users have had the ability to search competitor cross references for over a year as I write this post, however we received some feedback that this was not always easy to access since it was a direct integration with our search. Our users were looking for more of a standalone experience. With this most […]

Samtec.com users have had the ability to search competitor cross references for over a year as I write this post, however we received some feedback that this was not always easy to access since it was a direct integration with our search. Our users were looking for more of a standalone experience.

With this most recent update, we have pulled the Cross Reference search feature into an application of its own, which is accessible in the Resources area of our main navigation.

Once you are on that page, just type in any valid competitor part number and we will show you up to 20 matching Samtec results.

It’s important to note that we must have an exact match of the part number. Due to the wide variability of results that could be possible, we will not match partial competitor part numbers.

How to Interpret the Results

Because our cross reference relationship is “many-to-one” in our database, this means that multiple Samtec parts will often cross to one competitor part number.

The reason is because of our product differentiation. We can offer so many different options for a given product line, that this almost always results in a variety of different part numbers that are very similar in nature.

The results will include:

The matched competitor name and part number

An image representation of the Samtec product

The matching Samtec full part number

The URL where the Samtec product can be found

Possible variances in the Samtec product, such as plating, housing material, current ratings, etc

The results should be sorted to show our best match starting from the top.

If we do not have a match in our database, no cross reference results will be displayed. In this case, you can use our Support Options to reach our customer service team. They’ll be happy to assist you.

Send Us Your Feedback

We would love to hear your feedback about this feature, and any others on the website. If you have any feedback or suggestions for our web team, feel free to send them an email at eHelpDesk@samtec.com.

Drop your email address in the form below if you want to stay in the loop with these updates, and as well as the rest of our blog content.

]]>Samtec Standards Experts Present at Embedded Tech Trendshttps://blog.samtec.com/post/samtec-standards-experts-present-at-embedded-tech-trends/
Tue, 16 Apr 2019 16:33:42 +0000https://blog.samtec.com/?p=19623FMC. FMC+. XMC. PC/104 . . . Does the list of Industry Standards ever stop? Like TLAs, probably not! What are Industry Standards? They are formal specifications that simplify differences in popular applications. The purpose is improved compatibility, performance, and efficiency across embedded systems How is this achieved? Building consensus across a diverse group of […]

What are Industry Standards? They are formal specifications that simplify differences in popular applications. The purpose is improved compatibility, performance, and efficiency across embedded systems

How is this achieved? Building consensus across a diverse group of stakeholders. This requires constant research, development and pier review of the particular standard.

One popular event on the standard calendar is Embedded Tech Trends. This event offers suppliers of component, board and system level solutions a forum to discuss the latest technical trends affecting embedded systems standards.

Samtec at Embedded Tech Trends

Embedded Tech Trends educates the industry in target vertical markets on the application of system, board, and switch fabric technologies. Ideas are exchanged and contacts are made across the embedded ecosystem.

Preparing for the Next Wave of High-Speed Fabrics in Embedded Computing

In an ever increasing connected world, the embedded systems of tomorrow will be required to process huge amounts of data.

As the future capabilities of the compute devices and memory technologies enabling these systems increases, a new generation of low latency, high speed fabrics will also be required.

The speeds at which these new fabrics must operate will pose real challenges for interconnect manufacturers and system designers. This presentation will discuss some of the fabrics emerging today, and identify some innovations interconnect manufacturers are using to overcome these challenges.

As a result, the need for embedded systems and standards is greater than ever before. Open-market organizations like VITA facilitate the development of embedded standards.

In the efforts to drive standards from idea to reality, active participation is key both for individual companies and the embedded industry. This presentation will discuss both the challenges facing standard development and the benefits of overcoming them.

]]>Check Out the March 2019 Website Updates for Samtec.comhttps://blog.samtec.com/post/check-out-the-march-2019-website-updates-for-samtec-com/
Thu, 11 Apr 2019 14:52:47 +0000https://blog.samtec.com/?p=23311In March 2019, we rolled out a new homepage panel, a few new content experiences, and a new level of interactivity to our locations search. Here are the major updates to Samtec.com for March 2019. New High Speed Cable Homepage Panel On top of our core offering of board-to-board products, Samtec also offers a wide […]

Video Thumbnails on Product Family Pages

We’ve done several updates in the past few months to strengthen the presence of videos on Samtec.com. With nearly 150 videos featuring products, demos, tradeshows, and more, we needed to do a better job of featuring this content.

We have added a new heading on our family pages that will feature product videos specifically as a standalone type of content.

Previously, these were listed under the Downloads heading, and were somewhat difficult to find.

Just navigate to any family page and scroll down to the Videos heading to check them out. Most major products have at least one video, and some have multiple.

New JIIA Coaxpress Standard Page

Japan Industrial Imaging Association (JIIA) is a Japan-based organization leading technological innovation of industrial imaging. JIIA promotes a global community for organizations related to industrial imaging, thus contributing to the development of industrial imaging standards and products worldwide.

We have developed a new content experience for this industry standard in our upgraded standards section of the website.

CoaXPress (CXP) is the world’s leading standard for high-speed imaging in professional and industrial imaging applications such as machine vision, medical imaging, life sciences, broadcast, and defense.

Release of New Technology Overview Guide

This literature piece focuses on Samtec’s Technology Centers, and the unique global business model and infrastructure we have developed to enable and ensure collaboration and innovation across our Tech Centers and throughout our company.

Because our Tech Centers are not limited by the boundaries of traditional business units, we are able to work in a fully integrated capacity that enables true collaboration and innovation.

This allows us to offer our customers a unique blend of high-level design and development of advanced interconnect systems and technologies, along with industry-leading signal integrity expertise, effective strategies and technical support.

Most companies are looking for ways to increase efficiency and thus, the bottom line. One way to do that is with Samtec’s new Low-Profile, Right-Angle 75 Ω BNC connector (BNC7T-BM1D) engineered for pick-and-place assembly, and 12G-SDI performance.

This Low-Profile, Right-Angle 75 Ω BNC connector (BNC7T-BM1D) is exclusive to Samtec. With 75 Ω BNCs in high demand for broadcast video systems, our experts designed a custom solution that increases the efficiency of board assembly and supports high volume manufacturing.

While maintaining 12G-SDI performance, they modified the weight of the low-profile, right-angle BNC connector to keep it balanced during automated placement without fixturing. The top surface area was also increased for a machine vacuum seal, making the use of industry standard pick-and-place machines possible.

]]>Creepage and Clearance and Why We Care About Ithttps://blog.samtec.com/post/creepage-and-clearance-and-why-we-care-about-it/
Tue, 09 Apr 2019 12:05:26 +0000https://blog.samtec.com/?p=23298Every day Samtec’s Application Support Group answers questions about a connector’s mechanical, thermal, and electrical performance. One frequently discussed topic is connector creepage and clearance. Creepage and clearance is ultimately about safety and meeting regulatory standards, regardless of the system design. The ongoing trends to reduce PCB size and increase density become a design challenge […]

]]>Every day Samtec’s Application Support Group answers questions about a connector’s mechanical, thermal, and electrical performance. One frequently discussed topic is connector creepage and clearance. Creepage and clearance is ultimately about safety and meeting regulatory standards, regardless of the system design. The ongoing trends to reduce PCB size and increase density become a design challenge when these smaller, denser PCBs incorporate high voltage circuits.

Dave Scopelliti, President of D-Scope-Tech and a long-time friend of Samtec, prepared an excellent document on creepage and clearance. Here’s the link to the complete document: Clearance and Creepage. I think it’s better to read (or scan) the complete eight page document, so I’m sharing the link above. But if you prefer to see a quick overview, here’s a summary:

What is Creepage and Clearance and Why Do We Care About It?

These are
actually two simple concepts and are product safety terms and requirements for
many types of products/assemblies/components. Regulating agencies such as IEC,
UL and CSA have very specific product application guidelines and requirements
that must be met in order to sell said products in many countries. These
standards help to ensure safe operation of the products reducing the risk of
electric shock or other injuries to the end users as well as reducing fire
hazards.

The paper defines creepage and clearance and explains why there
are two different requirements. Dave also elaborates on how carbon traces
affect the PCB after an arc occurs.

Pollution
Degree

Dave explains pollution
degree and ratings, and gives an example of how pollution can degrade
insulation resistance and withstanding voltage. Pollution degree is an
application specific parameter that takes into account how pollutants will
affect products exposed to different environments from a high voltage/safety
standpoint.

Industry
Standards and Specifications

The paper concludes with an excerpt from the
Clearance section of many of the related industry standards (from IEC 62368-1,
Audio-video, Information and Communication Technology Equipment) that
illustrates clearance requirements in the range most likely encountered in
telecommunications and most consumer applications.

]]>Testing Connectors with Mixed Flowing Gashttps://blog.samtec.com/post/testing-connectors-with-mixed-flowing-gas/
Thu, 04 Apr 2019 12:30:54 +0000https://blog.samtec.com/?p=23264Mixed flowing gas might sound like something you would experience at the local pub after a night of free spicy nachos to all patrons. However, in this case, we are talking about a specialized test that was developed in response to dissatisfaction with similar corrosion tests that were commonly used on connectors. Why test for […]

Mixed flowing gas might sound like something you would experience at the local pub after a night of free spicy nachos to all patrons.

However, in this case, we are talking about a specialized test that was developed in response to dissatisfaction with similar corrosion tests that were commonly used on connectors.

Why test for Mixed Flowing Gas?

Mixed Flowing Gas (MFG) is used to evaluate a connector’s performance under a simulated storage or operating conditions it may experience during its use. It is also used to measure the effect of plating degradation from those environmental factors.

Through testing a connector with MFG, you will know how the performance will be effected in the field, and it will show if the materials used in the connector will fail due to oxidation or corrosion.

How is it tested?

MFG involves exposing a connector set to the gases Sulfur Dioxide, Chlorine, Hydrogen Sulfide, and Nitrogen Dioxide in a chamber. The test uses a Class IIA mix of gas that is flowed around the part / parts for 14 days (7 days unmated / 7 days mated).

The test is conducted in a specialized chamber, shown below, in which the parts are exposed to the gases where the humidity and temperature are controlled by the chamber.

MFG Chamber

As with many tests, Low Level Contact Resistance (LLCR), is used to pass or fail the parts. LLCR is performed before and after being exposed to MFG in order to determine the effects on the connectors.

]]>NAB Show Preview – Samtec Details Latest 12G-SDI Interconnect Solutionshttps://blog.samtec.com/post/nab-preview-samtec-details-latest-12g-sdi-interconnect-solutions/
Wed, 03 Apr 2019 20:31:42 +0000https://blog.samtec.com/?p=22776Influencers. Start-ups. Online editors. Consumers. They all have one thing in common: content. For anyone associated with content, one of the most anticipated events of the year – NAB Show – is right around the corner. From April 6-11, NAB Show 2019 takes over the Las Vegas Convention Center. NAB Show brings together the entire […]

]]>Influencers. Start-ups. Online editors. Consumers. They all have one thing in common: content. For anyone associated with content, one of the most anticipated events of the year – NAB Show – is right around the corner.

From April 6-11, NAB Show 2019 takes over the Las Vegas Convention Center.

NAB Show brings together the entire digital ecosystem. Professionals from all walks of life – from AI and cybersecurity to TV and social media mavens – converge in Las Vegas to advance the art, science and business of content.

New and Improved 12G-SDI Demos

The first demo offers 12G-SDI connector Return Loss (RL) performance. The baseline RL is defined per the SMPTE ST-2082-1 specification.

Having one mated connector pair conform to the SMPTE ST-2082-1 specification is one thing. What about more than one? What about different connector types? Talk with Chris in booth C1050 at the show for answers.

The second demo showcases actual 12G-SDI signal processing and transmission. A 12G-SDI signal generator with a test pattern easily pass through short cable assemblies and a single connector set.

Having one one mated connector pair transmit a real 12G-SDI signal is one thing. What about more multiple connectors? What about different connector types? Sound familiar? Talk with Chris in booth C1050 at the show for answers.

Updated Broadcast Video Solutions Guide

The broadcast video ecosystem is changing, resulting in increased demands for high-capacity 4K and beyond digital transmission through today’s SDI infrastructures and the emerging video-over-IP infrastructures.

This requires expanded capabilities throughout the broadcast video chain, from camera to consumer. Samtec offers a full line of high-performance solutions and design-in support for each of these applications.

COPLANARITY AND STENCIL THICKNESS STUDY

Samtec and Phoenix Contact recently completed dual studies that show when PCB processing requirements dictate using a 0.10 mm (.004”) stencil, the coplanarity requirements for most connectors can be relaxed to a maximum of 0.15 mm (.006”). In other words, Samtec and Phoenix Contact both successfully soldered PCB connectors with 0.15 mm coplanarity using a 0.10 mm thickness stencil with optimized apertures.

CHALLENGE
FOR DESIGNERS

Designers know well that fine pitch components – i.e., sub 1.00 mm pitch – require thin stencils. The thicker the stencil, and therefore the greater the volume of solder paste, the greater the chance of solder bridging. Many designers will not specify a connector whose coplanarity specs exceed the thickness of the stencil. For example, if they are using a 0.10 mm thick stencil, they will not specify a connector whose coplanarity specs exceed 0.10 mm.

This is a conundrum for designers because tight size/coplanarity specs may limit the number of connector options available to them. This is especially true for larger pin count, standard pitch PCB connectors – e.g., 2.54 and 2.00 mm pitch connectors — because the coplanarity can creep above .10 mm.

Usually, connectors with fewer pins and finer pitches have tighter coplanarity specs. Conversely, connectors with more pins in a row, especially with more standard centerlines (i.e., larger), are more likely to have slightly higher coplanarity specs. Based on the results of this study, designers now have many more connector product choices available to them because they can use a thinner stencil and still achieve reliable solder joints.

This method also eliminates the need for more expensive stepped stencils.

SCOPE

Samtec’s Interconnect Processing Group (IPG) soldered three (3) connector series using a 0.15 mm stencil with 1:1 apertures. By 1:1 we mean the aperture is the same size and shape as the pad. The IPG also soldered three (3) connector series using two (2) variations of a 0.10 mm stencil with enlarged apertures. Phoenix Contact performed a similar study using a 0.10 mm stencil with the optimized aperture design. Below is one of the optimized apertures, for a Samtec FTSH series 1.27 mm pitch terminal strip. Connectors were built and measured, then sorted to find a coplanarity range suitable for this study (i.e., coplanarity of 0.10 mm – 0.15 mm).

CONCLUSIONS AND RESULTS

Between Samtec and Phoenix Contact, a total of 135 connectors were soldered using a 0.10 mm stencil with optimized apertures, and all passing and meeting at least IPC-J-STD-001 Class 2 criteria for a 100% yield. The optimized aperture is slightly larger than the pad. During reflow the overprinted solder paste is drawn to the concentrated heat of the copper pad and component lead. The overprint is minimal and does not result in solder balls on the PCB surface due to the surface tension of the molten solder being sufficiently strong to maintain the volume’s cohesion. See below for the results of one of the connectors (Samtec FTSH series) soldered by aperture type. Here is a link to the complete report to view the results for all three product series, by each aperture type (see pages 6, 8, and 10).

LEARN MORE

If you have questions please contact the Samtec Interconnect Processing Group (mailto:IPG@samtec.com). IPG is an in-house staff of Engineers to field all of your interconnect processing concerns. IPG can assist you in improving the overall processing and manufacturability of your board as well as helping lower its total applied cost.

]]>Samtec Mezzanine Strips Featured in New MCU Eval Boardhttps://blog.samtec.com/post/samtec-mezzanine-strips-featured-in-new-mcu-eval-board/
Thu, 28 Mar 2019 18:39:18 +0000https://blog.samtec.com/?p=22781Pundits in the semiconductor industry consistently debate the status of Moore’s Law. Does it still apply? For how long? How will x86 architectures be affected? These are ongoing questions and concerns for Wall Street and Silicon Valley. The answers will have economic, technological and societal impacts. However, not all end-market electronic devices require a server […]

]]>Pundits in the semiconductor industry consistently debate the status of Moore’s Law. Does it still apply? For how long? How will x86 architectures be affected?

These are ongoing questions and concerns for Wall Street and Silicon Valley. The answers will have economic, technological and societal impacts.

However, not all end-market electronic devices require a server CPU coupled with a GPU or FPGA accelerator. Sometimes, just a standard, general purpose microprocessor will do.

ST Microelectronics STM32MP1 Series

ST Micro’s new STM32MP1 series has been developed for a number of everyday applications. It features single or dual Arm Cortex-A7 and Cortex-M4 cores architecture.

This simple approach balances performance and power figures for any number of IoT and industrial applications. Popular open-source OS solutions can run on the the Cortex-A7 core while the Cortex-M4 core leverages the vast STM32 MCU ecosystem.

STM32MP157C-EV1 Evaluation Board

The STM32MP157A-EV1 and STM32MP157C-EV1 Evaluation boards are the full-feature demonstration and development platforms for STMicroelectronics Arm®-based dual Cortex®-A7 32 bits and Cortex®-M4 32 bits MPUs in the STM32MP1 Series.

As a full-feature demonstration and development platform, the STM32MP157C-EV1 motherboard contains many expansion connections for industry-standard protocols. Of note, some interfaces feature Samtec mezzanine strip connectors.

Mezzanine Strips on STM32MP157C-EV1

One example is the LTDC expansion bus. This provides common control lines and data access for a standard LCD-TFT. The STM32MP157C-EV1 motherboard uses Samtec QSH series 0.50 mm Q Strip® High-Speed Ground Plane Socket Strips for this connection.

]]>Samtec, Connectors, and IoThttps://blog.samtec.com/post/samtec-connectors-and-iot/
Wed, 27 Mar 2019 19:15:08 +0000https://blog.samtec.com/?p=22725Chances are likely that you have heard of the Internet of Things (IoT) by now. On that same chance, you have probably heard it so many times that it is starting to become like any other buzzword. I say that in jest however, but just wait until IoT hits the late night infomercial buzzword list […]

Chances are likely that you have heard of the Internet of Things (IoT) by now. On that same chance, you have probably heard it so many times that it is starting to become like any other buzzword.

I say that in jest however, but just wait until IoT hits the late night infomercial buzzword list alongside the tactical cane with the LED handle that is connected via 5G with your HD vision sunglasses.

Where is Samtec in IoT?

All jokes aside, IoT and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) have and will change the way that we gather information, actively monitor processes, and problem solve malfunctions from remote locations.

Over the last couple of years, Samtec’s products have been used in varying products concerning IoT/IIoT.

Embedded Vision

As machines are given the ability to detect abnormalities through camera systems, or embedded vision systems, the data requirements will vastly increase, and so will the need for faster components.

Samtec’s FireFly Micro Flyover System is well suited for embedded vision applications. With copper and optical options, designers have a choice to upgrade from copper to a 28 Gbps optical solution down the road.

Razor Beam LP is an ultra micro solution for applications up to 28 Gbps NRZ. With stack hights down to just 2 mm, it is a perfect solution for connecting the image sensor through the camera.

]]>Rugged Interconnects For Industrial Applicationshttps://blog.samtec.com/post/rugged-interconnects-for-industrial-applications/
Tue, 26 Mar 2019 12:53:04 +0000https://blog.samtec.com/?p=22763Many industrial electronics OEM designers use the word “rugged” to describe their board-level interconnect needs. While rugged can mean different things to different people, it usually includes the ability to withstand high shock and vibration applications, maintain mechanical and electrical integrity after exposure to both harsh environments and high mating cycles, and provide EMI shielding […]

Many industrial electronics OEM designers use the word “rugged” to describe their board-level interconnect needs. While rugged can mean different things to different people, it usually includes the ability to withstand high shock and vibration applications, maintain mechanical and electrical integrity after exposure to both harsh environments and high mating cycles, and provide EMI shielding attributes, to name a few.

Designers in the mil/aero, high-performance computing, telecom, and datacom industries face the challenges of ever-increasing data rates, denser systems, and shrinking product footprints. Fortunately for designers in the industrial sector, interconnect requirements don’t change as quickly. Reasons for this include: longer product life cycles, the absence of constant pressure to reduce PCB real estate, and lower bandwidth requirements, among others.

Several design elements contribute to connector ruggedness, but three especially important factors are: contact design, plating, and insulator design.

Contact Design

Contact base materials and design are among the most important parameters for rugged applications. Common base metals include brass, phosphor bronze, and beryllium copper.

Brass is the least expensive of the three metals and has excellent electrical properties. However, it’s not often recommended for contacts (receptacles) in a working beam because it could fail due to low yield strengths.

Phosphor bronze is stronger than brass, has better spring properties, and is excellent for contacts that have relatively few mating cycles and low contact flexure.

Beryllium copper (BeCu), while more expensive than most contact materials, provides the best combination of mechanical and electrical properties. Once formed and hardened, BeCu will retain its shape under a wide variety of conditions.

Tiger Eye multi-finger, heat-treated BeCu contact

Two Samtec contact designs are popular in many industrial applications. The first, the Tiger Eye contact, is a multi-finger, heat-treated BeCu contact. Although commonly used in 1.27 and 2.00 mm pitch micro interconnect systems, these contacts are designed for rugged environments. For example, a slot in the tail provides more surface area for solder adhesion. Additionally, connectors with micro tail slots tend to adhere to the wet solder paste prior to reflow better than flat leads. These and other qualities increase the mechanical strength of the connector to the PCB.

Multi-finger, heat-treated BeCu contacts also feature a slot in the transition area between the gull-wing tail and the contact. This slot, while seldom needed, is designed to prevent solder wicking. Although wicking is rare in SMT applications due to the limited amount of solder, if it should occur, the slot disrupts the capillary action so the solder doesn’t migrate into the contact area.

Tiger Buy tuning fork contact for high shock, vibration applications

The second of Samtec’s most popular industrial contact designs is a dual-wipe, phosphor bronze tuning fork design, called Tiger Buy. This design is popular in rugged applications due to its contact geometry. Specifically, the length of the two mating beams (fingers) enables firm, consistent normal forces and is less likely to take a permanent set after exposure to numerous cycles.

Contact Design for Bandwidth

While system speed isn’t a concern for most industrial electronics OEM designers, it may become a concern for some in the future. Industrial Ethernet is usually the maximum bandwidth requirement; although, industrial suppliers are following the speed advancements as ruggedized components make improvements viable. Likewise, applications for micro-pitch interconnects (<2.00 mm centerline) are relatively rare, but they are required for rugged handheld devices, like those used in data collection.

Contact systems can be designed to meet both rugged and higher bandwidth requirements, though. Samtec’s popular Edge Rate® design incorporates BeCu to maximize spring properties, while the contact geometry and orientation in the insulator optimizes signal integrity. Specifically, the surface of the contact is milled, creating a smooth mating surface area, rather than stamped, which mates on a cut edge. This smooth mating surface reduces wear tracks on the contact, increasing its durability and life cycle. It also lowers insertion and withdrawal forces, which allows the connectors to be zippered when unmating.

These contacts are also positioned in the plastic insulator so that the narrow edges of the pins are parallel to each other. This minimizes the parallel surface area, reducing both broadside coupling and crosstalk. The video below shows the design of the Edge Rate contact.

Plating

Designers frequently ask which plating finish is best. The best plating finish is whichever material combination meets your requirements at the lowest cost. Gold is generally specified for high-cycle, high-reliability applications and low-voltage or low-current applications. Even in extremely hostile environments, gold will remain free of oxides that could cause an increase in contact resistance.

Tin is a lower-cost alternative and has excellent solderability. It’s frequently used in connector systems with fewer expected cycles, but is also used in high normal force contacts, as these cause sufficient wiping action during lead insertion to help break up the tin oxide surface film.

For these reasons, selective gold-tin plating, which provides designers with the best of both worlds, is Samtec’s most popular plating option. This option provides the critical contact area with the reliability of gold, and the tail area with the lower-cost and solderability benefits of tin.

Insulator Design

Plastic insulator design features that are popular with industrial product designers include:

Board locks on connectors that mechanically lock two PCBs together.

Positive latching systems on discrete wire and IDC cable systems. These manually activated latches can increase unmating force by up to 200%.

Screw downs, which mechanically secure the connector to the board.

Weld tabs, which significantly increase shear resistance of the connector to the PCB.

IP ratings, such as IP67 and IP68, since dust and water protection are often a concern.

Design features including BeCu contacts, weld tabs, latches and locks can make micro pitch connectors rugged for industrial applications

]]>Using Nanosecond Event Detection to Identify Effects of Mechanical Shock and Random Vibrationhttps://blog.samtec.com/post/using-nanosecond-event-detection-to-identify-effects-of-mechanical-shock-and-random-vibration/
Fri, 22 Mar 2019 12:19:13 +0000https://blog.samtec.com/?p=22756In the video above, it might not appear that much is taking place, but just like with transformers there is “more than meets the eye.” Alright, that was corny, and I am mildly ashamed, but Nanosecond Event Detection for shock and vibration is nothing to be ashamed of testing. Maybe your system operates within highly […]

In the video above, it might not appear that much is taking place, but just like with transformers there is “more than meets the eye.” Alright, that was corny, and I am mildly ashamed, but Nanosecond Event Detection for shock and vibration is nothing to be ashamed of testing.

Maybe your system operates within highly dynamic environment, and it is important that you don’t experience any interruption in your signal. This is where Nanosecond Event Detection comes into play.

What Does This Test Measure?

Nanosecond Event Detection consists of using a mated pair of connectors soldered onto a test board. There are a series of cables also soldered to the test board that monitor continuity; see the video above for a visual. It should be noted that event detection cannot measure the length of an event, and will only note its occurrence.

The test is designed to measure the ability of the connector set to withstand a series of mechanical shocks and random vibration in all three axis of the product.

Any system that will experience rough handling, transportation, or will operate in conditions where the system will be exposed to shock should be tested to ensure the product will continually perform.

Nanosecond event detection is conducted according to EIA-364-87 “Nanosecond Event Detection Test Procedure for Electrical Connectors, Contacts and Sockets.” This standard calls for the test to be performed for 50 nanoseconds at 10 ohms.

For mechanical shock, standard EIA-364-27 “Mechanical Shock (Specified Pulse) Test Procedure for Electrical Connectors and Sockets” is used. The standard calls for 100 G Peak, 6 milliseconds, half-sine. This is performed 3 times per direction and axis.

To test the connectors for their ability to withstand vibration, Samtec uses EIA-364-28 “Vibration Test Procedure for Electrical Connectors and Sockets.” The standard calls for 7.65 gRMS random vibration for 2 hours/axis.

How is This Test Different Than Mechanical Shock and Vibration Testing using LLCR?

While both tests are similar, they provide a different information set. Nanosecond event detection is used to actively monitor for disruptions in the signal, and the connector set is powered for this test

LLCR based detection will only tell you if your system functioned before and after the event, and the connector set is unpowered as it is not being actively monitored.

In case you missed the blog on Mechanical Shock and Vibration you can check it out here.

Samtec publishes all of its reports on www.samtec.com and can be found according to the series pages.

To see the qualification test report that includes Nanosecond Event Detection test results for the SEAM/SEAF series please click here, or type in the series name of the part you are interested in on www.samtec.com.

]]>You Can Now Configure a Samtec 3D Model on Your Smart Phonehttps://blog.samtec.com/post/you-can-now-configure-a-samtec-3d-model-on-your-smart-phone/
Wed, 20 Mar 2019 19:08:30 +0000https://blog.samtec.com/?p=22752Over the past few years, 3D modeling capabilities on Samtec.com have progressed immensely. We’ve gone from a small library of static files to a massive library of dynamically generated models, that can be downloaded as virtually any file type, in just a few seconds. Thousands of 3D models are downloaded this way every day from […]

]]>Discover Incredible Power Delivered In A Space Saving Form Factorhttps://blog.samtec.com/post/discover-incredible-power-delivered-in-a-space-saving-form-factor/
Tue, 19 Mar 2019 13:22:18 +0000https://blog.samtec.com/?p=22712As one of the great superheroes learned – “with great power comes great responsibility.” Even without “spidey-sense” and the ability to scale tall buildings with webbing, there is still power to be wielded with Samtec’s new mPOWER™ connectors…with incredible power comes incredible space savings and design flexibility. Incredible Power & Space Savings This micro 2.00 […]

]]>As one of the great superheroes learned – “with great power comes great responsibility.” Even without “spidey-sense” and the ability to scale tall buildings with webbing, there is still power to be wielded with Samtec’s new mPOWER connectors…with incredible power comes incredible space savings and design flexibility.

Incredible Power & Space Savings

This micro 2.00 mm pitch system (UMPT/UMPS) not only saves board space, but also carries extremely high amperage per square inch. Compared to traditional power connectors that carry 21 Amps per blade in a large form factor, mPOWER passes 21 Amps per blade in about half the size, freeing up the board for other components or minimizing package size.

With stack
heights from 5 mm to 12 mm (up to 20 mm in development), mPOWER can be easily
added to new or existing architectures.

Further design flexibility is available with a choice of 2, 3, 4 and 5 power blades (up to 10 blades in development). Matte Tin or 10 µ” Gold plating are standard with optional 30 µ” Gold plating to meet specific regulations.

Additionally, the power blades have 2 stage mating and can be selectively loaded to achieve any specific creepage and clearance requirements. Optional weld tabs provide increased stability on the board.

Roadmap

A variety of other options are in development for mPOWER connectors including a right-angle version with 2 to 10 position counts, and a socket cable assembly to mate with both the vertical and right-angle terminal. The cable assembly will include latching for more rugged applications.

Also in development is a 30 A system for even greater power in a small footprint.

]]>New Optical FMC+ Module Supports Extended Temperature Rangeshttps://blog.samtec.com/post/new-optical-fmc-module-supports-extended-temperature-ranges/
Fri, 15 Mar 2019 22:10:52 +0000https://blog.samtec.com/?p=22747Readers of the Samtec blog are familiar with the benefits of FMC and FMC+. These popular interfaces define a compact electro-mechanical expansion interface for a daughter card to an FPGA baseboard or other device with re-configurable I/O capability. VITA 57.1 has been around for some time. It supports 10 full-duplex transceivers running at 10 Gbps. […]

]]>Readers of the Samtec blog are familiar with the benefits of FMC and FMC+. These popular interfaces define a compact electro-mechanical expansion interface for a daughter card to an FPGA baseboard or other device with re-configurable I/O capability.

VITA 57.1 has been around for some time. It supports 10 full-duplex transceivers running at 10 Gbps. The new VITA 57.4 standard defines two new connectors. Combined, they offer 32 full-duplex transceivers running at 28 Gbps.

New FMC/FMC+ products are continually introduced to the market. Targeted industries include Datacom, Broadcast, Aerospace/Defense, Industrial and Instrumentation. More recently, optical network communications have become more popular.

TechwaY TigerFMC+

High-speed optical communications are a necessary feature for many applications. TechwaY – based in Villebon-sur-Yvette, France – has developed a new FMC+ module for extended temperature applications.

The TechwaY Tiger FMC+ takes advantage of optical advances that are ongoing in FMC+ technologies. The TigerFMC+ has become an essential product within the mil/aero industry. It represents a next-generation solution for rugged, extended-temp on-board optical transceivers.

The TigerFMC+ features 12 full duplex links at a rate of up to 14 Gbps. TigerFMC+ uses Samtec’s FireFly optical engines to achieve aggregate throughput of 336 Gbps. As a result, this makes the TigerFMC+ one of the fastest FMC+ modules on the market.

The TigerFMC+ is fully VITA 57.4 compliant, ready-to-use and an easy-to-use platform. It offers easy integration with FPGA development or even within VPX systems.

Production-Grade FMC+ Solution

The TechwaY Tiger FMC/FMC+ solutions offer robust add-in cards for end market products. This is one of a number of solution systems designers can use for production-grade, extended-temp optical FMC/FMC+ applications.

]]>February 2019 Web Updates to Samtec.comhttps://blog.samtec.com/post/february-2019-web-updates-to-samtec-com/
Thu, 14 Mar 2019 15:42:00 +0000https://blog.samtec.com/?p=22738In February, we rolled out several back-end performance updates to Samtec.com, as well as a few upgraded applications. Here are the major updates to Samtec.com for February 2019. Updated Experience for mPOWER™ Family Page The mPOWER™ connector system is the ultimate micro, high-power solution with incredible design flexibility for power-only or power/signal applications. Due to […]

]]>In February, we rolled out several back-end performance updates to Samtec.com, as well as a few upgraded applications.

Here are the major updates to Samtec.com for February 2019.

Updated Experience for mPOWER Family Page

The mPOWER connector system is the ultimate micro, high-power solution with incredible design flexibility for power-only or power/signal applications.

Due to the wide variety of stack heights available, mPOWER can be easily added to new or existing architectures alongside one of Samtec’s high-speed connector systems for a unique two-piece power and signal/ground solution.

Mobile Resources Navigation

Continuing the trend of mobile user experience updates you’ve seen in the past several months, this month we added a “Resources” section to our mobile view.

This section links to a lighter version of the Resources panel that you see on the desktop version of the website, including links to Videos, Literature, 3D Models, Standards, Dev Kits, and Support.

Check out the Samtec.com mobile experience by visiting Samtec.com on any smartphone device.

Performance Updates across Samtec.com

Samtec.com has grown immensely in the past couple of years. Any time a website grows in complexity and features, there are performance implications that come with that.

This month we focused on releasing several key performance updates to Samtec.com, including:

Improving caching policies to be more aggressive

Reducing server requests in many ways

Back-end server architecture updates

Adding preconnect entries to third-party resources

Deferring loading to resources not needed on the initial pageview

These tweaks, and a few more have helped speed up Samtec.com by nearly a second for new visitors, and potentially more for returning visitors who benefit of the more aggressive caching.

One second might not sound like a lot, but we know from our analytics that it can be the difference from you staying or leaving our website, so we want to be sure to provide you with the quickest experience possible when navigating Samtec.com.

New Locations Page Experience

You’ll now notice a new way to search for Samtec Sales and Distributor locations. The previous way was a large text list that was sometimes cumbersome to navigate.

We have upgraded this experience to add filtering by Direct Sales and Distribution, as well as an interactive map that moves as you use the dropdown search features.

We’ll be making some Phase 2 updates to this tool in the coming weeks to better represent locations on the map. You can try it out by visiting the new Locations Search page here.

5G Applications Solutions Guide

As implementation of the 5G network quickly gains momentum, new high-performance devices, systems, and test & measurement equipment are needed to support the ultra-high frequencies and high data rates that technologies like mmWave, Massive MIMO, beamforming and full duplex demand.

]]>Rugged, High Bandwidth Interconnects Save Space On PCBhttps://blog.samtec.com/post/rugged-high-bandwidth-interconnects-save-space-on-pcb/
Thu, 14 Mar 2019 13:06:55 +0000https://blog.samtec.com/?p=22727Edge Rate®, one of Samtec’s most popular high speed, high bandwidth interconnect systems, also saves space on your PCB. Edge Rate is both the name of the contact system and the product family. The contact system is designed for high speed, high cycle, rugged applications. With some connectors, the mating edge of the contact is […]

Edge Rate®, one of Samtec’s most popular high speed, high bandwidth interconnect systems, also saves space on your PCB.

Edge Rate is both the name of the contact system and the product family. The contact system is designed for high speed, high cycle, rugged applications.

With some connectors, the mating edge of the contact is the
cut edge of the pin (but not Edge Rate!). If you look at the edge of the pin under
a microscope you may see micro burrs and edges. This reduces the life of the
connector because repeated cycles against those cut edges will wear-out the
plating.

But the mating surface of the Edge Rate contact is the smooth, milled side of the contact. This smooth mating surface reduces wear tracks on the contact, increasing the durability and cycle life of the contact system.

The thin, narrow, cut edges of the Edge Rage contact are positioned side-by-side. This minimizes the parallel surface areas, which reduces broadside coupling and crosstalk. Check-out this video which elaborates on the design of the Edge Rate contact system.

The Edge Rate contact is rugged and can handle high cycle applications. Contact wipe on the .8mm and .5mm pitch products is 1.5 mm for a reliable connection.

And finally, the contact is simply designed for higher bandwidth. The contact geometry is designed, simulated, and optimized for 50 and 100 ohm systems given the contract pitch and appropriate grounding schematics.

INTERCONNECT SYSTEMS

The connector series callouts are the ERM and ERF series. ERM stands for Edge Rate Male, ERF stands for Edge Rate Female. These three letters are followed by either an 8, 5, or a 6. Eight is for .8 mm pitch, five is for .5 mm pitch, and six is for 27 mm pitch. Just kidding, 6 is for .635 mm pitch.

Edge Rate connectors are available in vertical, right angle, and edge mount terminations. They are available with all kinds of design options, like full 360 degree shielding, latching systems, guide posts, and differential pair configurations, to name a few.

The new ERM6, ERF6, on .635 mm pitch, is designed to save space on the board. The slim body design is only 2.5 mm wide, or just under .100”. That’s big. Well, I mean it’s a small connector, but it’s a big deal.

Edge Rate contacts are rugged and designed for higher cycle applications. They’re high speed – depending on the configuration they’re rated at 28 Gbps or 56 Gbps PAM4, and there’s lots of design options.

]]>5 Meter, 56 Gbps Long Reach Backplane Cable Assembly For Rack to Rack Applicationshttps://blog.samtec.com/post/5-meter-56-gbps-long-reach-backplane-for-rack-to-rack/
Thu, 07 Mar 2019 19:48:08 +0000https://blog.samtec.com/?p=22706Long Reach Backplane Cable This live demonstration from DesignCon 2019 shows how Samtec’s ExaMAX® backplane connector, combined with Samtec Flyover® technology, achieves high density and very long reach. Here, the reach is five meters for a rack-to-rack interconnect system. In this video, Samtec’s Gustavo Blando walks us through the topology and discusses system performance. Samtec […]

Long Reach Backplane Cable

This live demonstration from DesignCon 2019 shows how Samtec’s ExaMAX® backplane connector, combined with Samtec Flyover® technology, achieves high density and very long reach. Here, the reach is five meters for a rack-to-rack interconnect system.

In this video, Samtec’s Gustavo Blando walks us through the topology and discusses system performance.

Samtec Flyover systems can be used in mid-board applications to achieve next gen speeds with longer reach instead of routing signals through lossy PCBs, vias, and other components. A common mid-board application places the cable assembly connector close to the chip, directing the signal to the front panel.

These coaxial cables connect to an ExaMAX paddle card with an EBTF-RA backplane connector. The signal then travels through a five meter ExaMAX backplane cable assembly, the EBCM series.

The channel repeats on the other side ultimately getting back to the eSilicon RX. In this configuration we are routing 40 differential pairs through 30 AWG Samtec Eye Speed® ultra-low skew twinax cable.

Performance

The 1.02e-11 BER, which is several orders of magnitude better than the spec, is nearly error free, even pre-FEC. Overall, this topology has a total loss of -38 dB. But the cable connector system accounts for only -21 dB of loss; the remaining loss is in the rest of the interconnect.

Eye Speed Cable typically achieves the same results as competitors’ cable, but at four gauge sizes smaller.

Thanks to the unparalleled loss performance of Eye Speed twinax cable, systems can be architected with smaller gauge twinax providing a more flexible solution for cable management with less thermal interference.

And finally, removing high speed traces reduces the cost and complexity of the PCB.

ExaMAX® is a registered trademark of AFCI

]]>Browse 100+ Samtec Videos on Our New Standalone Videos Pagehttps://blog.samtec.com/post/browse-100-samtec-videos-on-our-new-standalone-videos-page/
Tue, 05 Mar 2019 10:39:09 +0000https://blog.samtec.com/?p=22700By popular request, we have just recently released a brand new standalone videos page that you can use to browse, search, and filter through all of the videos that are featured throughout Samtec.com. You can search by keyword, and/or use the filters we have provided to pair down your list even further. Videos range from […]

]]>Samtec Unveils Optical Networking Demonstrations at OFC 2019https://blog.samtec.com/post/samtec-unveils-optical-networking-demonstrations-at-ofc-2019/
Mon, 04 Mar 2019 18:49:48 +0000https://blog.samtec.com/?p=22685Optical networking may not be a topic that most people think about. However, social media users will fume if a bad fiber optics cable causes a data center outage. That may end the world! The folks who keep the data centers running may be away this week. The center of the optical networking industry definitely […]

]]>Download the new High-Speed Cable Interconnect Solutions Guide Nowhttps://blog.samtec.com/post/updated-high-speed-cable-interconnect-solutions-guide-by-samtec/
Wed, 27 Feb 2019 16:28:47 +0000https://blog.samtec.com/?p=22680The High-Speed Cable Interconnect Solutions Guide is where you will find Samtec’s latest offerings in the world of high-speed cable assemblies. However, Samtec also offers support and services unmatched in the industry to help our customers find the best fit for their application. The high-speed cable offerings don’t stop at copper, but also include optics; […]

However, Samtec also offers support and services unmatched in the industry to help our customers find the best fit for their application.

The high-speed cable offerings don’t stop at copper, but also include optics; I/O; and RF.

Samtec Flyover Architecture

Samtec Flyover design breaks the constraints of traditional signaling substrate and hardware offerings, resulting in a cost-effective, high-performance and heat efficient answer to the challenges of 56 Gbps bandwidths and beyond.

The arduous flex and bend test determined that the performance of Samtec Eye Speed® ultra low skew twinax is essentially indistinguishable from the original unbent cable.

Cable Management

Samtec works with system architects in the early stages of design to optimize the architecture for cable management while keeping signal integrity and thermals in mind.

This is a complimentary service that provides mockups with accurate cable lengths and helps to minimize pressure drops and number of SKUs within the system. For more information contact HDR@samtec.com.

The Eye Speed cable from the NovaRay connector terminates to a double density Samtec Flyover QSFP28 cable connector, the FQSFP-DD series and cage. Signals then route through Samtec’s QSFP-DD SI Evaluation board, through another set of precision RF cable assemblies, and back to the Credo Pelican II SERDES chip.

Results

The results are impressive. The insertion loss plot shows 15 dB of loss at 28 GHz. The Tx and Rx eye diagrams show PAM4 modulation; eye heights are all greater the 125 mV.

The bit error ratio of the entire system is 7.05e-09 pre-FEC, which is 4 – 5 orders of magnitude better than the spec.

Samtec Flyover System

This demonstration illustrates the advantages of the Samtec Flyover system. As bandwidth requirements increase, designers struggle with the challenge of propagating these ever-increasing signal rates through PCBs.

]]>Bringing the Lanes and Reducing Your Pains at Embedded Worldhttps://blog.samtec.com/post/bringing-the-lanes-and-reducing-your-pains-at-embedded-world/
Thu, 21 Feb 2019 15:19:41 +0000https://blog.samtec.com/?p=19722Embedded World 2019 is the conference for security in electronic systems, distributed intelligence, the Internet of Things / e-mobility, and energy efficiency. In other words, you are going to experience a wide range of embedded systems. It shouldn’t come as a surprise, since we are writing about it, that Samtec will be an exhibitor at […]

Embedded World 2019 is the conference for security in electronic systems, distributed intelligence, the Internet of Things / e-mobility, and energy efficiency. In other words, you are going to experience a wide range of embedded systems.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise, since we are writing about it, that Samtec will be an exhibitor at the conference. This year, Samtec is showcasing the 28 G Product Demonstrator and the full line of products that enable our customers to achieve their goals in the embedded world.

Embedded World runs from February 26 – 28, 2019 at the Exhibition Centre Nuremberg (Nuremberg, Germany), and Samtec will be in Hall 4A at booth 42-240.

How is Samtec Bringing the Lanes?

Samtec will have the 28 Gbps Product Demonstrator on display at Embedded World. It is a small version of a real system that uses active retiming devices at 28 Gbps, for short reach and medium reach channels, and it incorporates most of Samtec’s 28 Gbps+ products.

How is Samtec Reducing Your Pain?

If you haven’t had an opportunity to check out Samtec’s full line of products, then this is the place to do it. As more and more items become connected, the need for ways of doing so becomes more difficult. No matter your industry or application, Samtec has a product to fit your needs.

Micro Rugged

0.80 mm Tiger Eye Micro Terminal Strip

Micro Rugged contact systems utilize flexible power interconnects and rugged signal integrity to create the foundation of Samtec’s micro rugged solutions for high cycle, high speed, high power, and harsh environment applications. Samtec’s rugged products are offered in conjunction with full engineering support, online tools and a service attitude that is unmatched in the connector industry.

Flexible Stacking

.100″ Flex Stack, Flexible Board Stacker

Samtec has the industry’s largest variety of flexible board stacking connectors for the most design flexibility. Header and socket systems are available in a variety of pitch, density, stack height, orientation, and other standard or modified options.

Each signal is generated by a Credo SERDES, then passes through one or more Samtec connectors, before being received by another Credo SERDES, which measures bit error rates, insertion loss, eye height and diagrams, all in real-time. Ralph quickly reviews the performance of each interconnect system; most have BER’s of e-11 to e-16. Channels based on Accelerate mezzanine and Accelerate cable operate with pre-FEC BERs of zero (!).

AcceleRate Ultra-Dense Mezzanine system: AcceleRate is an incredibly dense board-to-board interconnect system with up to 240 total I/Os, a slim 5 mm width footprint, and a low profile 5 mm stack height. The four row design is available in 10 – 60 positions per row (40 – 240 total positions), with Samtec Edge Rate® contact system optimized for signal integrity performance.

ExaMAX® is a registered trademark of AFCI

]]>Samtec Releases New 5G Applications Solutions Guidehttps://blog.samtec.com/post/samtec-releases-new-5g-applications-solutions-guide/
Tue, 19 Feb 2019 22:39:21 +0000https://blog.samtec.com/?p=19813“So, what really is 5G?” That may be a question some folks are asking themselves. Why? No one has really heard of any 5G applications yet. Right? Insert rolling eye emoji here. In case someone lives under a rock, “5G” refers to the next-gen cellular standard that will take over the world in 2019 and […]

]]>“So, what really is 5G?” That may be a question some folks are asking themselves. Why? No one has really heard of any 5G applications yet. Right? Insert rolling eye emoji here.

In case someone lives under a rock, “5G” refers to the next-gen cellular standard that will take over the world in 2019 and coming years. 5G offers high speeds and lower latency for improved services such as:

Next-Gen 5G Applications

So, where are current 5G solutions found?

The heart of any 5G-enabled device remains the mmWave Silicon ICs transmitting and receiving data from bits to antenna. 5G system development typically links multiple RF signal chain and digital IC development boards mimicking end applications.

System testing of next-generation 5G systems must validate sub-6 GHz and mmWave radio solutions supporting governmental, industry and carrier standards.

Remote Radio Heads and Active Antenna Systems extend the reach of 5G networks. Integrating an increasing number of high frequency, multi-band RF signal paths into smaller form factors depends on high-performance interconnects for optimized operations.

Next-generation 5G network equipment must be scalable, intelligent and flexible. New technologies will dramatically increase coverage and data throughput while supporting multiple standards, bands and sub-networks.

Samtec 5G Applications Solutions Guide

As implementation of the 5G network quickly gains momentum, new high-performance devices, systems, and test & measurement equipment are needed to support the ultra-high frequencies and high data rates that technologies like:

]]>Discrete Wire Cable Assemblies For Industrial Applicationshttps://blog.samtec.com/post/discrete-wire-cable-assemblies-for-industrial-applications/
Thu, 14 Feb 2019 19:11:16 +0000https://blog.samtec.com/?p=19687Samtec’s complete line of discrete wire connectors and cable assemblies are used in a variety of applications, including industrial automation and industrial equipment (like power supplies, measurement devices, process controls and sensor systems), security, telecom, automation, controls, military and defense, and transportation, to name a few. Samtec discrete wire cable assemblies and components are available […]

Samtec’s complete line of discrete wire connectors and cable assemblies are used in a variety of applications, including industrial automation and industrial equipment (like power supplies, measurement devices, process controls and sensor systems), security, telecom, automation, controls, military and defense, and transportation, to name a few.

Samtec discrete wire cable assemblies and components are available on a variety of pitches (from 0.80 mm pitch to 6.35 mm pitch), on a variety of wire gauges from 32 AWG to 10 AWG (for signal and power), and with a broad selection of bodies, contacts, and terminals (for just about any application).

There’s a complete list of products available below, but before you see that list, I need to tell you two things:

Custom and Modified Assemblies

Nearly 40% of our discrete wire sales are modifications to standard products. Here’s a summary of some of our most frequently requested discrete wire cable assemblies. BTW, all of these are pretty easy modifications to our standard product line.

Application Tooling Available

We offer a variety of tooling to help you assemble discrete wire, AccliMate (sealed circular connector systems), and RF components. These range from simple hand tools for lower volume projects, to applicators that can be used in bench top and automatic presses for larger volumes.

In this video from DesignCon 2019, Scott McMorrow walks us through a live demonstration showing how NovaRay® Cable assemblies offer extreme density while enabling 112 Gbps PAM4 performance. In combination with an ExaMAX® Backplane Cable assembly, the traditional backplane architecture is retained, but with higher performance targets and lower PCB complexity.

The signals then travel through 12” of 34 AWG Eye Speed® Ultra Low Skew Twinax Cable to an ExaMAX Backplane socket on the back panel. The backplane socket mates via a panel retention bracket to a one meter, 30 AWG ExaMAX backplane cable assembly. This cable assembly passes through a lower-cost, and less complex backplane.

The return path repeats itself – the one meter of 30 AWG ExaMAX backplane cable transfers from the socket to 12” of 34 AWG ultra-low skew twinax cable, to a NovaRay board level connector, and back to the Xilinx 112Gbps PAM4 Transceiver Test Chip which processes the data to display BER performance.

The loss for the entire signal path, including all cable assemblies and pcbs, is approximately 28dB. This demonstration has 14 different connector interfaces.

The results are impressive: the Pre-FEC (“FEC-less”) BER is 2.15e-07. In the video, Scott walks us through the results and demo set-up in greater detail.

]]>Interact With Our New Micro Rugged Web Experiencehttps://blog.samtec.com/post/interact-with-our-new-micro-rugged-web-experience/
Tue, 12 Feb 2019 13:09:28 +0000https://blog.samtec.com/?p=19639Micro and rugged typically do not go hand-in-hand, but Samtec offers a breadth of products and features that prove it is possible. To show that, we recently released a new Micro Rugged web experience. Here you can scroll, roll over and interact with the product solutions and rugged features available, and learn more about the […]

Micro and rugged typically do not go hand-in-hand, but Samtec offers a breadth of products and features that prove it is possible. To show that, we recently released a new Micro Rugged web experience. Here you can scroll, roll over and interact with the product solutions and rugged features available, and learn more about the intense testing many of our rugged products have undergone.

Within the web experience you will find solutions for high cycle, high speed, high power and harsh environment applications that maximize space in a system, such as:

Tiger Eye – our most rugged contact system rated to 1,000+ mating cycles with redundant points of contact for high reliability

Also through the web experience you will discover that we offer full engineering support, online tools and an unmatched service attitude. Check out Solutionator® to quickly build mated rugged connector sets online and immediately download models, or open the Specs Kit to view prints and catalog pages. Or, contact microruggedgroup@samtec.com for more information and to discuss your micro rugged design needs.

]]>January 2019 Web Updates to Samtec.comhttps://blog.samtec.com/post/january-2019-web-updates-to-samtec-com/
Fri, 08 Feb 2019 11:09:06 +0000https://blog.samtec.com/?p=19643In January of 2019, we wrapped up a few smaller projects that we have been working on to increase the presence of videos across Samtec.com. We also released a couple of updates to our Industy Standards section of the website, as well as our product configurator. Here are the major updates to Samtec.com from January […]

Addition of Videos Heading to Product Family Pages

In addition to adding the videos page mentioned above, we have also added a new “Videos” heading to all of our product family pages. We’re still in the process of populating the data to show the relevant videos for each product, but you can still see this in action on a few pages.

We’ll have the videos populated in a few weeks, creating a far more rich content experience on our family pages.

Updated Experience for Industry Standards

We have been working dilligently for the past several months to update the Industry Standards section of our website. We’re nearly finished updating all of the pages, and to celebrate, we gave the main Industry Standards page a face lift.

Each standard now has a description, logo, and an easy link to learn more. Additionally, at the bottom, you see more organizations that we are a part of, but may not have content featured on our website.

New Hypertransport Page

HyperTransport® is a state-of-the-art packet-based, high-bandwidth, scalable, low latency point-to-point interconnect technology that links processors to each other, processors to coprocessors, and processors to I/O and peripheral controllers.

This month, we updated the Hypertransport / HT3 page with a new look and content.

]]>Mechanical Shock and Vibration and Your Systemhttps://blog.samtec.com/post/mechanical-shock-and-vibration-and-your-system/
Thu, 07 Feb 2019 22:15:09 +0000https://blog.samtec.com/?p=19637Using a connector set that hasn’t been tested for mechanical shock and vibration is like getting a tattoo on your face while jumping on a trampoline; probably isn’t a good choice. Ok, maybe you are thinking, “I’m an engineer, and everyone knows engineers don’t get tattoos.” Well if you can’t relate with that, then maybe […]

Using a connector set that hasn’t been tested for mechanical shock and vibration is like getting a tattoo on your face while jumping on a trampoline; probably isn’t a good choice.

Ok, maybe you are thinking, “I’m an engineer, and everyone knows engineers don’t get tattoos.” Well if you can’t relate with that, then maybe you can relate with needing a connector set that can withstand rough handling, transportation, and conditions that aren’t static.

What Are We Measuring?

Mechanical shock and vibration tests the ability of a connector to withstand a series of mechanical shocks and random vibrations.

This test is completed in all three axis of the product (x, y, and z).

Low level circuit resistance (LLCR) is used to check the system before and after to gauge the effects of the test. If you aren’t familiar with LLCR then make sure to check out the blog on it here.

In order to test the connectors for their ability to withstand vibration, Samtec uses EIA-364-28 “Vibration Test Procedure for Electrical Connectors and Sockets.”

This standard calls for connectors to be exposed to 7.65 gRMS random vibration. Sinusoidal vibration can also be ran.

Samtec uses the standard EIA-364-24 “Mechanical Shock (Specified Pulse) Test Procedure for Electrical Connectors and Sockets” as the test for mechanical shock. The standard calls for a shock of 100g, 6msec, half-sine.

Why is the Mechanical Shock and Vibration Test Important?

Regardless if your system is going into an environment where mechanical shock and vibration are a common occurrence, you are going to want it to handle the unexpected bump and continue to perform.

With all of Samtec’s connectors you can ensure that your system will continue to function as designed even when under shock and vibration.

After all, no system goes without these stresses being placed on it at one point in its operation, and you don’t want to look like the system designer who got a face tattoo while jumping on a trampoline.

Samtec publishes all of its reports on www.samtec.com and can be found according to the series pages.

To see the qualification test report that includes Mechanical Shock and Vibration test results for the SEAM/SEAF series please click here, or type in the series name of the part you are interested in on samtec.com.

]]>Experience “Samtec Live” at our Silicon Valley Design Centerhttps://blog.samtec.com/post/see-samtec-live/
Wed, 06 Feb 2019 21:58:23 +0000https://blog.samtec.com/?p=19617They say that proof is in the pudding, and Samtec invites you to come and see our pudding. Samtec is always looking for ways to provide a higher level of service to our customers, and having all of our demos in one spot is just another example. What Will You See? If you have been […]

They say that proof is in the pudding, and Samtec invites you to come and see our pudding. Samtec is always looking for ways to provide a higher level of service to our customers, and having all of our demos in one spot is just another example.

What Will You See?

If you have been following this blog for any amount of time, then chances are likely you have seen some of the amazing demos Samtec has released. Some of our most recent demos have found a home at Samtec SVDC right in Silicon Valley. When you and your team stop by, here are the demos you will see.

Make sure to check out Samtec’s full line of characterization kits here.

Thermal and Cable Management

Samtec FlyoverTM Technology

Samtec offers our cable management expertise to all of our customers as a complimentary service. By using Samtec FlyoverTM cables the internal temperatures are easier to manage, and cables become easier to manage.

Samtec has several demonstrations setup to display the benefits of Samtec FlyoverTM, and two of those demos can be viewed here.

12.8 Tb OCP Wedge Switch

OCP Wedge Switch

The system has a 12.8 Tb Marvell ASIC with 32x QSFP-DD ports on the front panel, sending signals at 56 Gbps PAM4 per channel, through Samtec Flyover cable assemblies.

These assemblies, each with 18” of Samtec Ultra Low Skew twinax cable, terminate to Samtec FQSFP-DD connectors on the front panel and to either Samtec NovaRay or AcceleRate® connector systems on the ASIC end. The FQSFP-DD connectors accepts a standard, MSA-based QSFP-DD module.

High Speed Cable Products

All of these demos are made possible by Samtec’s Ultra Low Skew Twinax Cable. Several physical samples of the High Speed products are available to be viewed. Among these examples are the NovaRay, ExaMax Cable, FQSFP-DD, and AcceleRate.

Seeing is Believing

If you and your team would like to come by the Samtec Silicon Valley Design Center to see the demos in person then please contact your local sales rep, or send an email to ssv@samtec.com.

If you can’t make it into Samtec Silicion Valley, then make sure to check out the virtual tour by Samtec’s Jignesh Shah here.

]]>Custom Connector Modifications Just Got Even Easier on Samtec.comhttps://blog.samtec.com/post/custom-connector-modifications-just-got-even-easier-on-samtec-com/
Thu, 31 Jan 2019 20:32:13 +0000https://blog.samtec.com/?p=19609With the flexibility of our manufacturing process and non-existent miniumum order quantities for the vast majority of our products, custom connector modifications are fairly commonplace for Samtec customers. In fact, we welcome them. Customs make up nearly 30% of our business. A New Way to Request Custom Connector Modifications Up until now, these requests typically […]

With the flexibility of our manufacturing process and non-existent miniumum order quantities for the vast majority of our products, custom connector modifications are fairly commonplace for Samtec customers.

A New Way to Request Custom Connector Modifications

Up until now, these requests typically have been submitted through a single page on our website, through a sales rep, or through an email group that was set up specifically for this purpose.

With this recent update to our product pages (aka Technical Specifications pages), you’ll now find a “Custom Product” heading where common modifications are listed. You’ll then find a simple form to the right of that which allows you to easily submit your information.

The part number that you configure using the configurator tool on the same page will be submitted automatically to our customs department along with the rest of your information. This gives our team an easy place to start the conversation, resulting in even faster service to get you the products you need.

It’s not the most glamorous update we’ve ever made, but so far it’s been very effective and well received. You can give it a try here on our TSW page, or visit Samtec.com and navigate to any series page that you’d like to explore.

Send Us Your Feedback

We’re always looking for ways to improve your online experience.

Drop your email address in the form below if you want to stay in the loop with these updates, and as well as the rest of our blog content.

If you have any feedback or suggestions for our web team, feel free to send an email to eHelpDesk@samtec.com.

]]>Live DesignCon 2019 Updateshttps://blog.samtec.com/post/live-designcon-2019-updates/
Thu, 31 Jan 2019 17:41:44 +0000https://blog.samtec.com/?p=19600DesignCon 2019 is in full force this week from the Santa Clara Convention Center. There is tons of energy on the floor, during the presentations and on the sidelines. Real-world 56 Gbps PAM4/112 Gbps PAM4 solutions are everywhere. The technical presentations feature updates on 5G, V2X connectivity and testing, and other tech trends that will […]

]]>DesignCon 2019 is in full force this week from the Santa Clara Convention Center. There is tons of energy on the floor, during the presentations and on the sidelines. Real-world 56 Gbps PAM4/112 Gbps PAM4 solutions are everywhere.

The technical presentations feature updates on 5G, V2X connectivity and testing, and other tech trends that will define 2019. One interesting panel discussed the challenges and benefits of AI-based hardware design. Highlights from that are below.

What else is going on at DC19? Keep reading to find out.

Keysight 110 GHz Oscilloscopes

High-speed data rates need high-speed test and measurement support. One of the highlights of the show so has been 110 GHz Oscilloscopes from Keysight. What are some of the features and details?

Their Infiniium UXR-Series Real-Time Oscilloscopes scopes feature the 10-bit ADCs that operate above 8 GHz. That is unique to the industry. Keysight’s solutions also offer the lowest noise floor and lowest jitter in the industry.

The Credo retimer and gearbox family enables robust, low power, end-to-end signaling for 56 Gbps single lane rate enabled platforms. All family members are manufactured in 28 nm process technology and are shipping in volume production.

AI-based Hardware Design

Experts from HPE, Ansys, Intel PSG, Cadence and Synopsys presented their findings research and findings on the topic. The EDA companies offered compelling examples of how AI machine learning can shorten design cycles. One typcial PCB scenario took 120 hours using legacy design technique. Using an AI/ML-based systems only took 30 minutes.

Obviously, this and many other examples show the benefit of AI/ML-influenced design. One challenge to widespread adoption is the amount of training data available for the AI/ML algorithms.

A popular application of AI/ML is image identification. It is very easy to train an AI/ML system to recognize a “cat”. The reason? Thousands if not millions of cat pictures are easily accessible via the web. Are 56 Gbps PAM4 PCB design data sets readily available? Not so much.

What’s next?

Stay tuned to the Samtec blog for additional highlights from DesignCon 2019. Numerous videos, interviews, demos and other details will be posted in the coming weeks.

One technology holding back the adoption of liquid cooling has been the lack of optical transceivers which perform reliability while submersed. A new submersible optical transceiver option with Samtec FireFly now solves this problem.

In this demonstration at SC18 (Super Computing), Arlon Martin of the Samtec Optical Group walks us through a live demonstration of an immersion cooling system with a submersible optical Samtec FireFly transceiver running at 112 Gpbs (x4-28 Gbps/lane).

Liquid cooling is extremely important for next generation super computers because about 40% of the energy of a typical super computer is used for cooling. Liquid cooling reduces energy usage, and it allows designers to make denser, more compact, and higher performing computer systems.

The FireFly transceiver is a mid-board optical module which is less than 25% of the size of a QSFP module, and uses less than 50% of the power of a normal transceiver. This allows for very dense, high performance computing applications.

The optical FireFly System features the industry’s leading miniature footprint. This allows for higher density and closer proximity to the IC. The results are a simplified board layout, enhanced signal integrity from IC to faceplate and reduced power dissipation.

FireFly micro cable assembly systems are available in both optical and copper designs. Both systems use the same two-piece, low insertion force connector system with surface mount tails to eliminate through-holes in the board. Click here to watch a video about FireFly.

Customer samples of the submersible FireFly optical modules are
available now and full production is planned for later in 2019.

]]>New Zynq UltraScale+ Platform Offers 32 Gbps via FMC+ and FireFly™ Interfaceshttps://blog.samtec.com/post/new-zynq-ultrascale-platform-offers-32-gbps-via-fmc-and-firefly-interfaces/
Thu, 24 Jan 2019 21:20:58 +0000https://blog.samtec.com/?p=19580One of the most popular interfaces in the FPGA world is FMC. This has recently been expanded to FMC+. The new VITA 57.4 standard defines two new connectors. Combined, they offer 32 full-duplex channels running at 28 Gbps. However, the current generation of FPGAs and MPSoCs have transceivers supporting data rates in excess of 32 […]

]]>One of the most popular interfaces in the FPGA world is FMC. This has recently been expanded to FMC+. The new VITA 57.4 standard defines two new connectors. Combined, they offer 32 full-duplex channels running at 28 Gbps.

However, the current generation of FPGAs and MPSoCs have transceivers supporting data rates in excess of 32 Gbps. Why? Emerging protocols – including PCIe Gen 5 and JESD204C – will run at 32 Gbps.

Engineers developing solutions using 32Gbps+ protocols need interconnect solutions and test platforms they can depend on. While FMC+ is defined for 28Gbps, Samtec specifies the SEARAY to 56 Gbps PAM4. So, can FMC+ work at 32 Gbps?

Fidus Mantyss-32G

Ottawa-based Fidus Systems Inc. recently announced the Fidus Mantyss-32G. Based on the Xilinx® Zynq® UltraScale+ MPSoC, this versatile product combines multiple Arm® processors and 32 Gbps high-speed transceivers to further accelerate prototyping of the latest generation of ASICs on Synopsys HAPS Prototyping Solutions.

Next-gen ASICs, FPGAs and SoCs will leverage PCIe Gen 5. Likewise, interfacing to JESD204C ADCs/DACs are a must for wireless communications application like 5G infrastructure and SIGINT.

32 Gbps Test Set-up

Fidus worked with Samtec to identify
the best solution for running 32 Gbps data rates on the Fidus Mantyss-32G.
Fortunately, Samtec has multiple loop-back options for popular Samtec
interconnect.

Samtec’s VITA 57.4 FMC+ HSPC Loopback Card provides FPGA designers an easy to use loopback option. It can be used for testing transceivers on any FPGA development board or FPGA carrier card like the Fidus Mantyss-32G.

In addition, Samtec also offers the FireFly Loopback Cable Assembly (P/N HDR-190945-01-ECUE) It can be used for high-speed verification for the FireFly two-piece connector set.

Fidus attached both Samtec loopback solutions to a Fidus Mantyss-32G. The final test set-up is shown below.

32 Gbps Test Results

Each 32 Gbps transceiver loopback path was tested using the IBERT functionality of the Xilinx Vivado Design suite. Most importantly, all links were confirmed to be running error free before eye diagrams were captured. Moreover, minimal signal conditioning was used.

The top 8 lanes are looped back at a Samtec Firefly connector set. The bottom 8 lanes are from the VITA 57.4 FMC+ HSPC Loopback Card. As a result, the test data is shown below.

What does this test prove? Under the right conditions using optimized SI
techniques, both Samtec FMC+ and FireFly connector sets can achieve 32 Gbps
operation.

The Fidus design team skillfully combined SI support from Samtec with leading-edge PCB design techniques to accomplish this task. Samtec provided Fidus with complex, high-speed connector models and recommended BORs, Fidus’s Signal Integrity team then used these models to fully simulate and optimize the complete channel

The Fidus PCB team utilized decades of high-speed know how to identify the best combination of complex laminates, stack-ups and complex technologies to optimize the performance of the Fidus Mantyss-32G.